1. Field of the Invention
This disclosure is related to the field of compositions for the creation of a protective barrier against moisture and ultraviolet light.
2. Description of Related Art
Water and sun are two forces capable of wreaking havoc on a vast number of material surfaces, causing them to degrade and deteriorate with the passage of time. For example, water intrusion can enable the attack of a material or system by destructive processes such as the rotting of wood, rusting of metals and the de-lamination of plywood, amongst many other degrading processes. In addition, sun damage can result in fading and breakdown in the integrity of materials such as plastics, vinyl and rubber.
The impact of this damage over time on the economy as a whole cannot be underestimated. For example, the impact of just one of these destructive processes, rust, is immense. Rust is the general colloquial term for a series of oxides that form on iron and its alloys (such as steel) as a result of the reaction of iron and oxygen in the presence of water or moisture. Basically, when iron is in contact with water and oxygen, it rusts. Iron metal is relatively unaffected by pure water or by dry oxygen alone; the combination needs to be present for rust to form. This is because a tightly adhering oxide coating, known as a passivation layer, protects the bulk of the iron from oxidation. It is the passivating layer itself that converts to rust from exposure to the combined action of oxygen and water.
Chemically, the rusting of iron is an electrochemical process that begins with the transfer of electrons from iron to oxygen: O2+4 e−+H2O→4OH−. From this equation, it is illustrated that the occurrence of corrosion is dictated by the availability of water and oxygen. Further, the rate of corrosion reactions can be accelerated by electrolytes (this is illustrated by the accelerating effects of road salt on rust formation in automobiles).
Because rust is basically a reaction on the passivation layer of the iron substance, the rust layer does not generally adhere or stay permanently attached to the bulk metal substance. Rather, it forms, flakes off the surface and, as it flakes, exposes fresh iron. Generally, given sufficient time, this cyclic corrosion process will continue until an iron mass will eventually convert entirely to rust and disintegrate.
It is commonly known that the corrosion of metallic structures has a significant impact on the United States economy, including infrastructure, transportation, utilities, production, manufacturing and governmental sectors. One of the pioneering benchmark studies on the cost of corrosion performed in 1975 calculated the costs to be about $70 billion per year, or about 4.2 percent of the nation's gross domestic product (GDP). A more recent study commissioned by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) in 2001 showed that the cost of corrosion to the overall American economy had not significantly waned in the intervening decades. The study determined the direct costs of corrosion to the United States economy to be $279 billion per year or about 3.2 percent of the United States GDP. When indirect costs (otherwise known as society costs) to the user were taken into account, the overall corrosion costs rose to about 6 percent of the GDP. Economic sectors that are commonly affected by corrosion and rust formation include, but are not limited to, infrastructure (e.g., highway bridges, gas and liquid transmission pipelines, waterways and ports, hazardous materials storage, airports and railroads), utilities (e.g., gas distribution, drinking water and sewer systems, electrical utilities and telecommunications), transportation (e.g., motor vehicles, ships, aircrafts, railroad cars, and hazardous materials transport), production and manufacturing (e.g., oil and gas exploration and production, mining, petroleum refining, chemical, petrochemical and pharmaceutical, pulp and paper, agricultural, food processing, electronics and home appliances) and government (e.g., defense and nuclear waste storage).
Thus, the economic impact of rust on infrastructure systems and the economy as a whole is large. Traditionally utilized rust prevention techniques generally include, but are not limited to, protective coatings, corrosion-resistant alloys, corrosion inhibitors, polymers, anodes, cathodic protection and corrosion control and monitoring equipment. However, despite the availability of these corrosion control methodologies, the negative impact of corrosion and rust on the United States economy keeps rising. Obviously, the presently employed strategies are not enough to win the ever-waging battle against rust. New, more effective methods to combat rust and its growing negative impact on the United States economy are therefore needed.
Similar to rust, more viable protection methodologies and solutions are also needed for other degradation and deterioration processes on a wide variety of materials (e.g., metals, wood, vinyl, plastic) that occur from exposure to moisture or sun over time. A new and effective protective composition that would act as a barrier to water and sun for these materials, protecting them for significant a significant period of time from these degrading and deteriorating processes, is therefore needed.